Welcome! This week is about the Letter "Y."
“Y” stands for Ybor City and is a historic
neighborhood in Tampa, Florida. It was founded in the 1880s by Vincente Martinez Ybor.
Mr. Ybor bought 40 acres of land next to Tampa and founded an industrial city devoted to the manufacture of cigars in 1886. He built housing and imported workers from Italy, Spain and Cuba. Workers in the cigar factories rolled millions of cigars annually.
Mr. Ybor bought 40 acres of land next to Tampa and founded an industrial city devoted to the manufacture of cigars in 1886. He built housing and imported workers from Italy, Spain and Cuba. Workers in the cigar factories rolled millions of cigars annually.
Ybor City is home to one of my favorite
restaurants, The Columbia Restaurant. Founded in 1905, the landmark is still
owned by the Hernandez/Gonzmart family and serves Spanish and Cuban cuisine.
My husband
and I love eating in the court yard.
I love Cuban
food!
You start
off with a cup of Black bean soup, or maybe a bowl. :)
And a salad
which is made tableside.
Then here’s the hard part…choosing the main
course. There is just too many excellent dishes to choose from.
To end the meal Flan is always good, or
maybe the Tres Leche cake…… okay maybe both.
:)
A Flan is a like a creamy custard and Tres
Leche means 3 milk cake. Oh so good!
And of course I always
follow up dinner with a Cuban coffee with my
dessert.
If you are ever in Tampa, make The Columbia Restaurant
a “must go to place!” After dinner you can wander next door and watch an old
gentleman roll cigars.
There is a lot of neat architecture in Ybor
City. Why don’t you Google it. You’ll want to go see it all!
~~~*~~~
If you want to learn more about
Cuban food here is an excellent website.
~~~*~~~
To return to Jenny Matlock’s
Alphabe~Thursday click here:
Thanks for stopping by!~Ames
10 comments:
Well I learned a lot this morning! I've seen the signs for Ybor City going to Tampa, but never imagined it was such a cool place. I'll have to stop next time! I could really go for the black bean soup and Tres Leche Cake!
I would like to try this spot. It sounds delicious. Flan and Tres Leche are two desserts we've found in Mexican restaurants around town, but then again I never thought of it, but I would say Cubans falls into the Latina category, right? I really don't know how to separate the differences here, but with these Cuban dishes then it sure does make me think of Mexican style foods. Great post!
Never had Cuban food, but your pictures invite me to do so! Not sure there is Cuban food in Missouri! :)
You're killing me! I miss real Cuban food so badly. There's nothing like it out here. I lived in South Florida for a long time and ate Cuban food at least once a week while I lived there....
Ybor City is wonderful, and that is where we first discovered the Columbia restaurant. We now have one here in St. Augustine as well. La comida cubana es fantástico!
Oh, that Cuban food. And flan is a favorite of mine!
=)
I'll put this on my list of places to visit, too! I would love to eat at the restaurant...it looks wonderful! Enjoy your evening my friend!
Yummy!!! I would love to try cuban food one day! it sounds delicious!
That place looks incredible!
The black bean soup looked especially delicious!
We used to eat a lot of Cuban food when my husband lived in Mexico!
Thanks for sharing this yummy post!
A+
Goodness I am out of the loop! This is so cool and I would love to see the old gent rolling those cigars! How cool is that! But all that food looks totally gorgeous! Yum! I do love flan! Thanks for sharing with us!
Post a Comment